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By Mary KarugabaOFFICIALS from the Office of the Prime Minister have been queried
over the accountability for sh18.6b for internally displaced people
(IDPs).

The money was allocated to the ministry in 2007 to purchase farm
equipment and inputs for 632,880 households in 10 districts of northern
and north- eastern Uganda.

The districts were Gulu, Lira, Kitgum Pader, Adjumani, Amuria, Apac,
Soroti, Kaberamaido, and Katakwi. The money was also to purchase
ox-ploughs.

In a report to Parliament for the year 2008, the Auditor General said
inspection of Gulu district stores showed that 40,835kg of seeds worth
sh97.6m were not distributed because they were of poor quality.

The report also added that out of the 904 hoes found in the stores, 189 pieces were not of the recommended type.

The officials, led by the permanent secretary Pius Bigirimana, were on Tuesday meeting MPs on the public accounts committee.

When Bigirimana was asked how the money was spent, he bounced the
ball to the technical officials who were in charge of the project at the
time.

The committee agreed to summon the then permanent secretary in the
Office of the Prime Minister, Martin Odwedo, the head of procurement,
members of the evaluation and contracts committee and the project
manager.

The auditors also said sh1.7b meant to purchase ox-ploughs was diverted.

Dorcas Okalany, the ministry's former undersecretary, said the change
from ox-ploughs to hoes was done with the approval of Prime Minister
Apolo Nsibambi.